-- Bailee Niehus is up next for McMinnville and the count goes to 2-1 on her. The next pitch is a great off-speed toss that gets her swinging way out in front, but she cranks the next pitch to deep center and Alyssa Nichols will burn rubber as hard as she can around third. The throw goes to the cutoff man, and she looks like she'll get the ball in to the catcher in time for the out, but the throw is bobbled at the plate and Nichols will SCORE TO WIN THE GAME! What a heck of a game, and both teams just played each other fighting tooth-and-nail the entire way. There couldn't be a more picture perfect ending, folks! Congrats to both squads, and we'll see both these teams as soon as playoff softball begins. Thanks for tuning into the live blog tonight, and remember, you can get more photos like the one above, or upload your own in our new online softball photo galleries. Great game, thanks for logging on, and goodnight from McMinnville High School. Final: McMinnville 5, Tualatin 4 in 9 innings. I'd also like to send a big thanks out to the parents and volunteers working in the concession and announcers booth at McMinnville this afternoon. They were very helpful and more than hospitable to this high school sports blogger.

-- 1 away for Alyssa Nichols and she will foul away the first pitch. Tualatin takes what must be their 2,336, 471th timeout (or course, I'm exaggerating) to talk things over. Count goes to 0-2, but Nichols rips one to right for an easy base hit.

-- Bottom 9th: Jocelynn Robins will lead off he bottom half of the inning for McMinnille. The count goes to 1-1 on her. However, she will pop up the following pitch that is caught for the easy out.

-- with two on, the next two pitches to Tualatins next batter are balls well outside, and then Bertrand takes the count to 3-1 before walking the next batter. Amanda Richmond will now come to the plate for Talatin with bases loaded and 2 away, and Bertrand jams her, so Richmond hits a dribbler that Bertrand grabs and gets to 1st in time for the final out of the top half of the inning. McMinnville escapes a dangerous situation there, and now it's their chance to try and take this game.

-- 1 out in the inning, and the Timberwolves runners look eager to bolt for the bag at any sort of contact. Tualatin gets some wood on the next pitch to put the ball in play, but the runner is thrown out at first. Still, that leaves two runners in scoring position at 2nd and 3rd with two outs in the top half of the ninth.

-- Skinner will be up next. So, it's one on and one out for Skinner, and she floats a pitch to left field that will get her a base hit and leave two on for Tualatin's next hitter.

-- 1 out, and Camille Kennedy is up for Tualatin. She will swing a the first pitch and she has it drop just in front of the second baseman who can't get the throw to 1st in time. Kennedy is safe.

-- Centerfielder Gina Rawls will step up first to begin the inning for Tualatin. Rawls gets a great hit that makes Nichols freeze before making the grab, and the throw is JUST in time. The official calls Rawls out, but man.... that was too close to call for me.

For more detail on this game

8th

-- Bottom 8th: The first batter for McMinnville goes down on strikes, and Ana Bertrand will be up to bat next. The count goes quickly to 1-2 on her, and she will connect with the next pitch, but is throw out at 1st. Kourtney Kugler is up next for McMinnville, and she makes a great bunt down the third base line, but can't beat the throw. Great inning for Tualatin defensively. We go to the 9th now, tied at 4 apiece.

-- Bertrand gets the first two batters out with ease. One goes down on strikes, and the other pops a ball straight up for the catcher. Espinoza will come up next for Tualatin with 2 out and no one one. She gets in a good at bat after falling behind in the count, but a fastball right up the middle freezes her, and that will end the top half of the inning for the Tualatin bats.

7th

-- With one out, Katie Bartholomew comes up with a HUGE single that gets the runner home to tie the game at 4. Huge play for the Grizz, but they can't take the lead as Tualatine gets the final out on a throw to 1st that ends the inning. Were going to number 8.

-- Bottom 7th: Last chance time for McMinnville, and they get off to a great start. The first batter knocks a leadoff triple with a ball that is hammered back to the wall. The runner makes it to third easily.

-- The count goes to 2-2 on the next batter, and this is gut-check time for Bertrand. She needs an out here to give her team a chance in the bottom half of this inning, and she delivers. The batter grounds a ball right back at her and the toss to first is good for the final out. 1-2-3 inning for Bertrand, and the bottom of the 7th coming up.

-- Bertrand gets the first Tualatin batter out on strikes and that brings up Crombie and Jourdan Williams makes a difficult grab at third on the next swing from her that will give her enough time to make an easy throw to 1st for the 2nd out for Tualatin. Nice grab.

6th

-- Kourtney Kugler comes to the plate now with 2 away and no one on. Count goes to 1 and 2 on her, and she is mad at herself on tht last pitch as she kind of half swung at it. She is thrown out at the bag after her next swing, and Tualatin makes quick work of the Grizz there. End 6.

-- Bottom 6th: Bartholomew makes good contact on the pitch to lead things off, but the short stop grabs it and gets the throw to 1st in time for the out. 1 away, and Anna Bertrand to the plate. She connects on a pitch, but is also thrown out at the bag.

-- The runner tries to steal third, and she will get there as the ball goes right by the glove of the McMinnville 3rd baseman on a fielding error. Teh runner picks herself up and she will score as she beats the throw easily to give Tualatin the 4-3 lead. Big play, and Bertrand is looking a little tired now. She walks the next batter, and Skinner will try to steal 2nd on the next at bat, but the catcher makes a terrific throw to the bag and she is tagged for the final out. Tualatin up now, 4-3 after 6 and 1/2 innings.

-- A sac bunt will advance the runner to second, but that means there's 2 outs in the inning as Tualatin's Jordan Skinner comes to the plate.

-- The next batter gets behind, and will foul off a couple of pitches. Count goes to 3-2, and the batter gets a great shot to drop right in front of the left fielder for the base hit (sorry, I would give you her name, but I couldn't get a roster from the Tualatin Athletic department before I left for the game. It was No. 2 for Tualatin, so if someone has a name to go with that number, please post it in a comment below).

-- Bertrand still going strong here through 5 as she will get Espinoza to fall on strikes for the first Tualatin out of the inning.

Tim Brown / OregonLive.com

5th

-- Jordan Williams at the plate now with runners on 1st and 2nd, and she will connect with a pitch hard enough so that the short stop can't handle it and it slips through her glove for the error. Alyssa Nichols scores sliding into home before the throw can reach the plate, so that will tie the game. Big play for the Grizz, and after the next batter goes down, the game is tied for the top of the 6th inning.

-- Katie Bartholomew gets behind in the count and can't catch up as she sits on strikes for McMinnville's 1st out in this inning, so Gaylynn Doren comes to the plate and she connects on a pitch that is used to tag out the runner from 2nd on the force out.

-- Nichols lines a pitch hard to left that is in the same spot that Robins hit it to. Excellent hitting, and McMinnville now has 2 on with no out.

-- Bottom 5th: Jocelynn Robins will lead things off in the bottom half of the inning, and after a couple of shaky pitches, she grounds a ball hard to the gap in left and that will earn her a single. Before the Alyssa Nichols can come to the plate, Tualatin will meet at the mound again (it seems like they've done that about 5 times in this game already).

-- The next batter uses some patience, but to even the count at 1 and 1, but Bertrand won't be denied the final out as she tosses the next two pitches for strikes that end the at bat and the inning as well, but Tualatin gets a run and the lead.

-- Now, it's 1 out for Tualatin with runners at 1st and third, but Bertrand gets the next batter to sit on strikes for the 2nd out here in the top half of the inning.

-- The next Tualatin batter is walked, so now 2 on with 1 out in the top half of the inning. Count goes to 2-2 on the next batter, and she will float a ball to right for a single over the infield. Excellent shot, and that will score a run for Tualatin to take their first lead of the game.

-- Bertrand throws out the next batter on a dribbler hit right back to her, but that will advance Skinner to 2nd. So, 1 out for Tualatin with a runner in scoring position. Good opportunity for the 'wolves here.

-- Bertrand has been throwing the ball real high today. Not sure why that is, but it seems like every pitch she's missing on is really high up there.

-- With the count at 2-2 for Skinner, she will get the lead off single against Bertrand with a ball lined up into right center. Nice piece of hitting there.

4th

-- Bottom 4th: Britnee Neihus takes the first pitch for a strike and then fouls off two before going down on a strike swinging. Rebecca Bradley comes to the plate for the Grizz now with 1 away in the bottom half of the inning. The count will go to 1 and 2 on her before she sits on strikes as well. Kourtney Kugler is up next and she connects with the first pitch, but can't beat out the throw at the bag. That will end the inning with the teams still tied at 2 apiece.

-- The next batter goes down on strikes in 4 pitches, which will bring up Amanda Hermens. The count goes quickly to 0-2 on Hermens, and she will wiff on her next swing to end the top half of the inning. Nice 1-2-3 for Bertrand as no one even came close to touching a pitch there.

-- Suzanna Espinoza will lead off the inning for Tualatin and the first pitch to her is a strike swinging from the hurler, Bertrand. Bertrand really has some velocity, and it shows as Espinoza was way behind that one as subsequently goes down on strikes for the first out.

3rd

-- McMinnville is batting in the bottom of the third. They manage to stack runners on 1st and 2nd with Kaitlyn McClendon at the plate for the Grizz. With 2 out now in the inning, the runners advance on a wild pitch. McClendon need s a hit to break the tie, but she fouls one away. On the next pitch, McClendon will ground one to the 3rd baseman who makes the throw with time to spare for the final out. Still tied at the end of three.

-- Bertrand settled down enough to get an out, but then walks and a single filled the bags and Bertrand lost a pitch that walked a batter to force in a run. Not a good sequence for her, but she gets the final out and looks pretty steamed at herself as she jogs back to the dugout. Game is tied no.

-- Bertrand started things off as her regular self, but really seemed to struggle with control as the inning went along. Tualatin managed to get a roller into the infield, but the easy throw to first was too high and the runner gets her bag. As a result a previously walked batter scores from third to give Tualatin their first run of the game.

2nd

-- I've arrived with 2 out and a runner on for McMinnville with Jocelynn Robins stepping to the plate for the Grizz. McMinnville is already 2 up here early, and with the way Bertrand is known for pitching, that may just as well be a ten run lead. However, we'll see if Tualatin can come back. Robins is flies out to end the inning. End 2nd.

1st

-- Sorry for the delay, but there was traffic from hell on the way over here. Whoever the person was who designed OR-219... they should be tried and punished for their crime.

Pregame

-- We're about ready to get things started here. Both teams seem ready to battle as Bertrand takes the mound for the Grizzlies.

-- As you may have seen previously with the Wilson vs. Lincoln live game blog that we had a couple of weeks ago, today's game won't be reported play-by-play as is usually experienced in our live blogs. Today will be kind of a mix as i intend to spend some of the game snapping photos to include with details of the games highlights that will be posted in the High School Sports blog as well as in our online softball photo galleries. Don;'t forget that you can have pictures of your favorite athletes posted on our site as well by uploading and sharing your own photos.